Albania Private Universities in Line For Public Cash

Prime Minister Rama has endorsed a report into higher education, which he said was “a guarantee for higher education in Albania to move forward”.

According to Rama, work was already underway, ranking Albanian universities, both public and private, and those found to be lacking in academic standards will be closed.

The report by a commission headed by Arjan Gjonca, an Albanian professor at the London School of Economics, LSE, has also proposed raised admission fees for public universities.

However, it is the proposal to award public cash for private universities that remains most controversial. Critics say it will inevitably undermine the public higher educational system.  

In June, a group of students and professors from the University of Tirana and Polytechnic University organized a protest in front of the government’s office in Tirana against the plan.

In a statement on social networks, the group said that although the political class had united to support the change, their struggle against it would continue. “Our effort continues, the reform will not pass,” they said.